Gods Aren't Perfect - OFFICIAL

Chapter Twenty: Spoiler Alert: It Was All Just A Dream

As they continued on throughout the valley, it soon became nearly too dark to see at all. Thankfully, Elaine's flame brooch and glowing eyes alongside Atticus's flashlight and occasional photokinesis illuminated the way. Besides that, the Lichlady didn't seem to need the light at all, navigating tight turns and the mazelike corridors of rock with a fluid-like grace.

Every now and then, a Lightless would pass by, the monstrous octopus-like creatures filling the air with a harsh crimson glow. With Elaine's guidance, Nyx and Lizzy used their solid shadow and rock wall abilities to create cover and blend in with the rest of the cliffs, while Koumei used a wind barrier to stop noise from getting out. Thanks to this, the three began to look rather tired - but then again, they were technically already sleeping, and sleeping in a dream seemed weird, so onward they went without resting.

Soon most of the cavern-like corridors had passed, and another open plain stood before them. Except the plain had no grass, or dirt, and only appeared to be flat stone. Aside from the dust on the floor and the prints of a Canadian goose who was definitely not Q.U.A.C.K. and also definitely not staring at the gods from the shadows with a knife in its beak, the area was devoid of anything of interest.

"I think the coast is clear," the Lichlady said after a moment of silence. "Come now. We need to keep going."

At some point, pillars began to pop up alongside them. Nyx wasn't sure when she saw the first one, but now they appeared to be a common occurrence. Long, pale rods of marble sticking out of the floor at odd angles now surrounded them, each one a good few meters from the next.

The darkness practically radiated all around them now. Some kind of silvery fog floated about, which only added to the crushing mood around them. That was, until a pebble skitted along the ground and caused Calandra to panic for a good three seconds.

"Elaine? What's this all about?" Ophelia tried to strike up a conversation again, turning to the Lichlady - however, the undead witch only turned away.

Nyx came up to her other side, forcing Elaine a few meters higher where they couldn't see her. "Are you... okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine, I'm fine. Let's just keep going."

"Yeah, she's not fine," Atticus sighed. "Well, only one way to get answers..." They pointed a finger up and sent out a few small illusion bullets, forcing the Lichlady to turn and dash down to "avoid" them as they harmlessly went through her.

"Are you nuts?" Elaine flew right up in the Goddess of Magic's face, eyes glowing in fury. "We could be found out at any moment now! We could-"

"Your eyes are red. Like not Sarmia's red, I mean... red red." Tronso said from behind the duo. "And they weren't before."

Whatever chattering that had struck up between the many deities stopped. Faceless even grabbed Ophelia's Leafblade and aimed it at the Lichlady, causing the teenager to fall over and huff a short parrot squawk.

"Stop! I said I'm fine. End of story. Now. I'm not going to suddenly attack you or something. I'm just... tired. Okay? Can we stop now?" Elaine's words fell flat when Rosa walked over with a dagger on fire.

"What is going on here?" the honey-blonde Goddess asked her, weapon pointed right at the Lichlady's skull.

"Please. If you keep this up, miss Nature over here will be worried," Faceless added from behind her, prompting an annoyed tweet.

"The only thing you should be worrying about is how slow we are going. Please! I could outpace us while walking on my limbs." Elaine let out a laugh, only to trail off. "Well, I was warned that red eyes mean we're close, and that we should hurry up. So, can we make that happen? Just a bit faster." And with that, she dashed off in the same direction that the group had been going.